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Reviews
Semishigure (2005)
Anyhting Shochiku can do Toho can do better (well perhaps not better, but pretty good anyway)
Bunshiro, a young samurai finds himself on the wrong side of clan politics when his father is accused of plotting against the clan and forced to commit seppuku (ritual suicide). He and his mother find themselves evicted from their home and forced to live in a hovel. But Bunshiro is a talented swordsman and after a time he is reinstated and becomes a magistrate, filling the same job as his father. As he tours the countryside he discovers the political maneuvering which led to his fathers death is still widespread, and his childhood love who is now one of the lord's concubines has become an unwilling pawn. She has given birth to a boy and a rival faction has decided to kill the boy and blame Bunshiro.
Based on a story by Shuhei Fujisawa, who also wrote the stories "Twilight Samurai" and "Hidden Blade", Semi Shigure is a personal and intimate portrait of the life of a lowly ranked samurai. For fans of the genre, it's a must see.
Chichi to kuraseba (2004)
An A-bomb victim deals with survivor guilt
When the atom bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, Mitsue (Rie Miyazawa)happened to be bending down behind a stone lantern to pick up a letter. The lantern saved her but took the life of her father who was standing nearby as well as all of her friends.
3 years later, she is leading a lonely existence in the wreck of her family home when she is visited by the ghost of her father. "Chichi to Kuraseba" is a painfully beautiful film in which Rie Miyazawa (Twilight Samurai) really gets to flex her acting muscle. It is in some ways a political film but for the most part politics takes a back seat as Mitsue explores the guilt and anguish of surviving when everyone she loves died. It's not an easy film to watch, and as with films like "Grave of the Fireflies" you may shed a tear or two, but it is well worth the effort. It is one of those rare films which leave you a better person for having watched it.
Suwingu gĆ¢ruzu (2004)
It won't win an academy award, but who cares?
"Swing Girls" is one of those films you sit down and watch after a stressful day at work. It is the story of a group of school girls who have obviously failed a subject and are forced to repeat it over their summer break. A fate worse than death...which is exactly what they think and after a series of unfortunate events, they get a chance to ditch the classes and fill in for the school brass band who have come down with a not so mysterious case of food poisoning. It's light hearted fun and if you can look past a bunch of 20 something young women playing 16 year old school girls, and not doing an all that a convincing job of it, you won't regret watching Swing Girls. No bad language, no sex, no violence, just a quirky teenage comedy.
Mibu gishi den (2002)
Like "The Last Samurai", this film was set in the Meiji period. Unlike "The Last Samurai", this film was good.
Kanichiro is a poor samurai who has fallen on hard times. To feed his family he betrays his clan and moves to Kyoto to join the Shinsengumi (sort of like the Japanese secret police of the time). In Kyoto he squirrels away cent he earns and sends it back to his family. But times are changing and Kanichiro must choose where his loyalty lies; with the Shogun or with the Emperor. I really enjoyed this film, although I thought it could have benefited from a bit of brutal editing in parts. It tended to meander a bit towards the conclusion but it was overall a very good film and well deserving of its acclaim.
Azumi (2003)
Azumi is so violent, it's boring.
I don't have a problem with violence in movies. One of my favourite Japanese films of recent times is "Battle Royale" and as anyone who has seen it will testify, Kinji Fukusaku (the director) was no shrinking violet when it came to blowing people up. That said, I think that violence for it's own sake is at best boring and at worst quite disturbing. "Azumi" is a film where the violence is thrown in, it seems, for no other purpose than to shock. I'm sure there are people out there who love this type of film and the rating would seem to verify that but for me it was dull and self indulgent rubbish. "Battle Royale" left me disturbed but I was thinking about it for a week afterwards. "Azumi" only left me yawning and wishing for the closing credits.
Hotaru no hoshi (2003)
Hotaru no Hoshi is a warm story about a young teacher who fights against Japan's regimented school system, and in doing so earns the respect of his students
"Hotaru no Hoshi" is quite a wonderful film. It is a warm story about a young teacher who has some good ideas about teaching, but he finds himself up against Japan's regimented and conservative school system.
As a class project he decides to raise Hotaru (fireflies). Through the project his students become united and end up cleaning up a local river so the fireflies will have a home.
Hiroshi Sugawara who directed this film was offered a part in "The Last Samurai" starring Tom Cruise. He rejected the part to make this film. When he approached people to get the film made, they asked him if it had a love interest, he answered that the only love scenes were the fireflies. They asked if there was any action, to which he answered there was no action. They then asked, how long would it take to make and his answer was he needed 12 months so he could capture all the seasons. They thought he was crazy but thankfully someone saw the potential and the film was made.